Having a dog doesn’t mean that you can no longer go on adventures. If anything, taking your dog along can make your adventures more worthwhile and fun. This post will give you some tips and advice to plan your own wild camping adventure with your pet pooch.

Last month, I went on a family wild camping adventure with my wife and our dog Cleo to the Brecon Beacons in Wales. After a hike out onto the hills, we found a small wood to pitch our tent and get a good nights sleep.

Being outside in a new environment engages your dog’s mind as well as its body. It is a fantastic bonding experience and your dog is likely to have a smile the whole time, just like my dog Cleo.

Cleo enjoying the Brecon Beacons.

Preparation

Before heading out on a wild camp with your dog, there are few things you need to prepare. The health of your dog is the most important factor to consider. Your dog’s age, breed and health should all be taken into consideration before heading off onto a long hike. A vet can give you advice on the amount of exercise your dog requires and whether your dog can manage a night of camping in the wild.

When spending time out in the wild, your dog will be more likely to come into contact with ticks. Ensure your dog is treated with flea and tick treatment to help prevent these horrible little mites from getting onto your dog.

It is good practice to ensure your dog is fully vaccinated. Your vet will give you recommendations depending on the country that you live in.

Before heading out, I ensure I have enough dog food for the duration of the adventure. If you are planning a long adventure (over 48 hrs) you may have to restock on food supplies in local towns or villages. It can often be difficult to get the same type of food that your dog normally eats, so I would advise you take take plenty of supplies.

Again, the amount of food and type of food you will need depends on your dog’s breed, age and health. Remember that your dog will likely use more energy when on long treks so just like humans, they will require more food.

Your dog should also have a good supply of fresh water available. You will need to pack extra water to ensure that you have enough for you and your pooch. You will also need to ensure you pack a bowl or container for your dog. I use a foldable travel bowl like this: Collapsible Travel Dog Bowl

Ensure you take down the phone number and address of the nearest vet. If anything was to happen this would reduce the hassle and time needed to get any treatment.

It is worth keeping in mind that you will have to take slightly more equipment when camping with a dog. Most of this equipment is light but if you are away for an extended period of time, food and water can add up.

You will likely want to take a tent. If you have a large enough tarp/shelter, your dog should be fine. It is not fair to let your dog sleep out in the rain.

If you are not using a tent, you will probably want to keep the dog attached to you by looping the lead around your wrist. This can be avoided by using a tent.

You will need a tent that is big enough for you and your dog.

I take a spare towel to dry my dog before going to bed.

Secure all dog food. The last thing you want is wild animals getting to the food.

Avoid strenuous exercise at least an hour after your dog has eaten.

Having a flowing water source is great for your dog to drink from.

Try to sleep away from farm animals. Sheep and cows could become spooked by your dog.

Have an extra mat or use a towel for your dog to sleep on.

If your dog is toy orientated, take a ball or your dogs favourite toy. This will help your dog to feel at home when in the tent and in the wild.

Take extra poo bags. Always pick up your dogs poo. The last thing you should do is pick up the dogs poo, then throw the bag in a bush. If your dog poos near trails or tracks, pick it up and carry it in your bag until you next see a bin. It’s not that pleasant but it’s better than somebody else walking in it. It also protects other animals from eating the plastic. There have recently been reports of horses dying from eating bags of dog poo.

Keep in mind the temperature. It’s not safe for your dog to be outside in extremely hot or cold weather.

Depending on the breed of your dog you may want to consider a dog coat or jumper in cold weather.

Camping with dogs

Cleo sleeps near my feet whilst in the tent. I place down a dry, spare towel for her to sleep on as well as having the ground sheet of the tent. She usually ends up sleeping on the foot of my sleeping bag. You need to make sure your dog’s nails are trimmed to avoid ripping the tent.

In the morning I make sure Cleo is fed and watered. We then pack up and head off on a new hike for the day.

Heading out wild camping with your dog is a great activity for both of you. Your dog gets plenty of physical and mental exercise and you get a big, fluffy dog to act as a hot water bottle for the night.

We all have routines. The average British worker will head off to start work early in the morning and return home in the evening. Then make some dinner, watch mind numbing TV then go to bed. It doesn’t always have to be this boring, though…

A few months ago, I was at a presentation by Dave Cornthwaite at the adventure travel show in London. He talked about his personal story, from quitting a job that he found unfulfilling to living a life of purpose and adventure. His story was funny, entertaining and resonated with me in many ways. Dave talked about a community that he has founded called the YesTribe. This is a social enterprise that encourages people to achieve their potential. To ‘Say Yes More‘. I joined the YesTribe facebook groupand was amazed to find all of these people on the internet with a similar mindset to myself.

Dave Cornthwaite presenting alongside his scooter that he took on a 1000 mile adventure in Japan.

A few months after I discovered the YesTibe, Dave put up a post advertising a wild camp on a Tuesday night on the outskirts of London. Luckily I was working very close to London and thought it sounded like a brilliant idea. Most of my wild camps have been on solo adventures or with just one other person so I was looking forward to camping with a group and meeting like-minded people.

Packed and ready for a night in the woods.

Straight after work, I raced to Blackwater station, bag packed and ready for a night in the wild. I was excited to be doing something so different on a Tuesday night. Don’t get me wrong, I love the occasional night in front of the TV, watching Netflix or even playing the Playstation but a night under the stars fills me with a different type of satisfaction.

I arrived at Oxshott station at 6:30 pm. It was easy to spot the other wild campers immediately. Armed with our rucksacks and sleeping bags we made our way into the wooded area which would be our home for the night.

In all, there was about 15 of us that arrived for the wild camp. We introduced ourselves and had a quick game of frisbee in the late evening sun. For late March, the weather was surprisingly warm. Once the sun started to set we made our way to the area in which we would be setting up camp.

The group quickly went to work, collecting dry bits of wood from the branches that have fallen from trees. We each placed our rucksacks in our sleeping spots and some of us put up small tarp shelters. We all had bivvy bags to protect our sleeping bags from the wind and rain.

Over a campfire, we shared food and told stories about ourselves and what we had done since Yestivalin October 16. After listening to a few people, there was a strong theme to every person’s background. We all had a ‘Say Yes More’ attitude. No two people were the same, each had their own special and unique view and experience to bring to the group.

Listening to some of the people in the group talk about their planned expeditions and past successes was awe-inspiring. There was no bragging or arrogance. Just humility. Some of the people there that night are doing some truly amazing things. This is what makes the YesTribe special.

I love to wake up to the sun rising and the sound of birdsong. We all returned to work the next day with the smell of the campfire smoke in their hair. If you have trouble sleeping, a few nights of wild camping is a great prescription. Leave the electronics at home and enjoy nature for what it is.

We should all get out and spend more time outdoors. There is nothing stopping us from getting our friends together and spending the night in the woods. It’s certainly much more fun than sitting in front of the couch and watching TV.

THE BEGINNERS GUIDE TO WILD CAMPING IN THE UK

It is completely normal to have some fears and questions before heading out to go wild camping. We get used to sleeping in a cosy bed, surrounded by walls in a warm and safe environment. Why would anybody in their right mind want to head out into the wild and sleep there? You may ask:

Is it legal? Will I be safe? Will I get a good nights sleep? Do I take a tent or sleep with just a bivvy bag? What is a bivvy bag?

These are all very reasonable questions that I also asked before I first wild camped.

I have spent many nights under the stars with the Army in an organised Platoon harbour area. This is when a group of 30 soldiers go into a defensive position so they can conduct administration (cleaning weapons, resupplying ammunition, eating and sleeping). We would normally sleep under a military poncho (basically a tarp) to protect ourselves from the wind and rain. In hot countries, the tarp would be usually used to provide some decent shade.

Wild camping alone feels much different to spending your nights in the wild with the Army. At first, when I was wild camping alone, I felt much more nervous and worried. Worried that I would be disturbed during the night. Worried I would be found by somebody. The safety of sleeping alongside 30 soldiers, with your protection provided by machine guns and assault rifles was no longer there. Looking back now, those initial fears were understandable but unnecessary.

Wild camping is liberating, cheap and lots of fun. You will naturally feel safer in a tent than you would out in a bivvy bag in the open. But once you have slept without a tent, that feeling of freedom is addictive. You will even look forward to escaping the confines of your synthetic box and will start to embrace those slightly drizzly, British nights. It is no safer in a tent than it is in a bivy bag. You will be harder to spot in a bivvy which means you are more likely to be left alone.

What is 'wild camping'?

Wild camping will have different meanings to different people. For some, a night in a campsite, in a tent or caravan could be wild camping. For others, it can mean going to some remote corner of a national park, away from all civilisation and sleeping on the side of a mountain. Wild camping is what you make of it. It can be all of the above. As long as it's outside and you are camping, in my book, it's wild camping. The perfect campsite would be flat, dry, have a running water source nearby and have an epic view. So that other people can also enjoy the wild, you should always aim to leave the least trace that you possibly can.

Is it legal?

This is slightly more complicated than it should be. In Scotland, it is legal pretty much everywhere. It's also legal in Dartmoor. In rest of the UK, it is technically illegal unless you have the landowners permission. This being said, I have wild camped all over the UK and have never encountered any problems. I have slept in abandoned barns, by rivers and in woods and even on a golf course. As long you treat the space you are staying in with respect, leave no trace and don't stay for more than one night you are highly unlikely to encounter any problems. My advice - it's often better to beg for forgiveness than it is to ask permission. For me, this is part of the adventure. For others, you may want less risk, which is understandable. Check out this website for a risk-free way to wild camp: https://nearlywildcamping.org/

What kit do I need?

Many external factors will assist you to decide on the most suitable way to wild camp. The way you are travelling will be one of the biggest factors, be it walking, cycling, paddling in a canoe, hitch-hiking or any other wonderful and crazy form of transport you can think of. If you are travelling on foot you will want to pack light. A bivvy bag and a light sleeping bag will be best. If you are cycling, you will be able to take a tent for more comfort.

Other factors that will affect the manner in which you camp will be weather conditions and length of the adventure. For a weekend trip to the hills or in the woods, you could get away with sleeping in a sleeping bag and a bivvy bag. If you are going to be spending time in some horrible weather, it is advisable to take a tent and a sleeping bag.

The essential bits of kit you need:

Bivvy bag. This is basically a waterproof cover for your sleeping bag. They come in all shapes and sizes. I use a light one that cost about £20 or a much heavier and robust military issue one. Both have their merits. The lighter, cheap one isn't anywhere near as reliable as the very durable but heavy military issue bag. For a comprehensive list of bivvy bags with all of their benefits check out this website: http://thenextchallenge.org/comparison-best-bivi-bags/.

Sleeping bag. For most UK adventures, you will need a sleeping bag. Again, these come in all manners of shapes and sizes. You need a bag that you will be comfortable in, but not too heavy and cumbersome. A three season bag should cover most conditions that you are likely to encounter in the UK. If budget is not an issue, I would recommend the Rab Infinity 300.I like to pack light and usually use a very thin, military issue one (also because I hate spending lots of money on equipment). If you are using a very thin sleeping bag, you can increase the warmth with a silk sleeping bag liner. When I walked home for Christmas, I took a super heavy sleeping bag that is suitable for arctic conditions. After the first 20 miles, I regretted taking such a heavy bag. Next time I will pack light and just put on an extra layer of clothing if needed.

Roll mat. You will regret not taking one if you decide to go fully hardcore. Using any roll mat is the difference between a decent night sleep and a sore back. My advice is to keep it simple. I personally do not like the inflatable roll mats. They are fine if you are sleeping in a tent but as soon as you take it somewhere more rugged, there is a chance it will pop and with that goes your good night sleep. If you do have an inflatable roll matt, try and put it in your bivvy bag. It will give it extra protection. Or just buy a cheap foam one. I use this foldable roll matt: Zip Zap Zooom Highlander Z Army Sleeping Mat Folding Fold Up Camping Mattress Foam DPM Camo.

Map and compass. Having a map and compass is invaluable when wild camping in the wilderness. Even with GPS and mobile phones with pretty accurate mapping software, nothing is more reliable than a paper map and a compass. Being able to use these tools effectively is a skill that takes lots of practice. There will be times when you get away with using google maps or the app, view ranger but only if you have access to power.

With this kit, you are pretty much set to go and wild camp anywhere in the UK. It may not be the most comfortable but it allows you to have the freedom to camp with a minimal footprint.

For extra comfort you can add the following:

Tent. I would only recommend a tent if you feel you are able to carry the weight or if the weather is going to be particularly rough. I use a really cheap, 2 person tent that I purchased for a music festival from sports direct. It's a terrible tent but it is better than sleeping out in the rain during a thunderstorm. When you can get away from using a tent, go for it. For comprehensive advice on how to choose the correct tent, check you this website.

Pillow. Use a jacket or a dry bag with warm kit in it. Don't buy one of those travel pillows. Unnecessary and a waste of space.

Torch. You will probably need some sort of light. I use a Petzl Tikkina Head Torch. It's simple, fairly cheap and uses AAA batteries.

Knife. A small pocket knife is always worth taking. It can come in handy in many different circumstances when spending time outdoors.

Cooking system. If you are travelling on an extended wild camp adventure, it pretty likely that you will want some hot water for drinks. You can also cook rice and noodles with just a small stove. I use a JetBoil Zip Cooking System. This one is great for cooking for just one person. I have had my JetBoil for 7 years and it is still going strong. It gets plenty of use so I see this bit of kit as an investment. Don't forget to bring a spoon or even bring a spork.

One of my favourite things about wild camping is the fact it is usually free or at the least very cheap. Once you have some very basic equipment, you are set to head off to your first wild camp.

Top tips when wild camping

Picking an epic wild camping spot depends on a multitude of different circumstances. Here are some of the key things to bear in mind:

Pick somewhere dry. There is nothing worse than waking up in a bog or puddle. If you are in a national park, don't sleep in the very low areas. These are likely to collect water. Consider sleeping in a wooded area. This will give you the extra benefit of protection from the wind.

Leave no trace. Always take your rubbish with you. Don't surface lay a poo. Dig a hole and bury it with the paper. Digging a hole without a shovel is much harder than you think but do your best please. Worst case, cover it with leaves and bag your paper.

Sleep away from urban areas when possible. I have spent many nights sleeping in urban areas and near busy roads. They are often too bright, noisy and not the nicest place to sleep. If you are forced to sleep in an urban area, check google maps for some green or wooded areas. It's often easier to find somewhere quiet than you may think. Settle in when it's dark and leave before first light.

Camouflage. If you are sleeping in a more urban area, camouflage is the key to an undisturbed night. Occupy your wild camping spot after sunset when nobody is looking. It will make setting up slightly more challenging but will add to the adventure. Try to avoid using white light. If you must use light, use a red filter on your torch. Most head torches can be set to use red light. Take an extra couple of minutes to drop further into the woodline or bushes rather than sleeping on the edge. Don't use a brightly coloured tent. If you are taking a bike, cover it with some local foliage. Grass and leaves are good for this. Take off any reflective tags on your bike or tent or at the very least, cover them with leaves. If you are in the wild and have the landowners permission (or are in Scotland, Dartmoor) disregard most of this advice regarding camouflage.

Campfires. I love a good campfire. They can almost become hypnotic at night time. I've spent many a night, aimlessly staring at a roaring campfire. Don't start a fire if it is particularly dry or if there is a high risk of it spreading. This is not often a problem in the UK but in hot and dry countries like Spain and Cyprus, this is a real danger. Check local information boards to find out the fire risk and to see if they are allowed. When you go to sleep, ensure the fire is out. If you leave the fire burning through the night there is a risk it could spread or even set your tent on fire.

Be bold. Some of my favourite wild camping spots have come from being bold. I've spent the night in a tiny abandoned church in France, a barn in the Midlands and once I asked to sleep in a friendly Belgians garden. He not only let me sleep in his garden, he offered me a beer. Be bold. Fortune favours the brave.

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This was my first real solo adventure. I usually have a Platoon of men to command or a friend to travel with. This time my partner was the bicycle and a ukulele.

Cycling through Yorkshire was a real unexpected highlight of the trip. As a Yorkshire man, I almost take the beauty of my home county for granted. It was great to visit small towns and cities that I have never been to. Places such as Halifax, Bradford and Harrogate were full of friendly people who were more than happy to stop and talk to a complete stranger. One man in Harrogate even bought me a pint after I sat on a patch of grass next to a pub to recover from climbing up a big hill.

Nothing beats an ice-cold pint after a hard day of cycling on a hot day. To the friendly guy in Harrogate who bought me this, thank you.

The first performance

My first busk in Ripon was terrifying. It was around 5pm and I had been cycling all day on what was one of the hottest days of the year. I sat on a bench, got my delightful pink music stand out and started to tune the ukulele (the music stand is the wife’s, I promise). Playing those first chords was easy enough but plucking up the courage to sing was much harder. My singing was far too quiet. With no amplification, my ukulele was getting drowned out by the sound of distant cars and the bustle of a marketplace in the summer. I had to sing louder to get noticed.

After the first five songs, I had received nothing in my pathetic empty baseball cap. I was ready to give up but I thought I would give one more song a go. Then the most amazing thing happened. I received a pound! I had been paid for singing! That person will never realise how happy that pound made me. I eventually made another pound and called it a day with £2 in my pocket. I felt rich. Having made that money by using my limited talents felt so much more satisfying than any pay packet I had received before.

Setting up in Bradford to play for the crowds on a busy Friday afternoon. This was the first town I plucked up the courage to stand up and play rather than sitting down. I found that by standing up I engaged with those passing by more. Not sure if it led to any more money though.

Catching up with old friends

In Bradford, I played for about two hours. I made over £5! Never before I set off did I think I would make that much money in a day. An old friend from university saw on Facebook that I was in the area so he popped into town to see me. It was fantastic to catch up with someone I hadn’t seen for six years. We went to the local chip shop for lunch but I wouldn’t allow him to buy me lunch as that would have been cheating.

The cycle from Yorkshire to Liverpool was beautiful. I followed the Rochdale canal for as far as I could. It was much slower than the road route due to the gravelled surface but it was worth it. The canal is a cyclist’s paradise. I didn’t want to leave the canal but I had to get onto the quicker route to make it to Liverpool on time.

The route 66 national cycle route on the Rochdale canal. This was taken after just entering Lancashire from Yorkshire.

Across the Pennines

The route to Liverpool after leaving the Rochdale canal was long and tedious. Hugging the A580 was dirty, polluted and boring. My aim at this point was purely getting miles under the belt to get to Liverpool.

Upon arriving in Liverpool I had four spare hours until I needed to get the ferry. So at 6pm on a Saturday night, I got the ukulele out and started playing my set list. Two songs in (and £2 up) a man with long silver hair came up and asked how much longer I would be. I told him I was going to play five more songs. He then offered to give me £5 if I would move on. It turns out I had picked a great busking slot and he usually performed there.

After agreeing to move (I was more than happy to make a quick £5) I asked the man what his act was. He told me he plays music on his speakers, puts on his roller blades and skates around the streets. I laughed, thinking he was joking. He wasn’t. He told me his alias is ‘quicksilver’ or Jeff to his friends. Jeff quicksilver made about £20 in 5 minutes!

It was quite astonishing how quickly he had made the money. He was entertaining and unusual. It’s not often you see a pensioner roller skating to music in the streets. I told Jeff I was heading to Belfast, it turned out that was his home town. He wished me well and I was on my way with £7 from my stint in Liverpool.

The border between Yorkshire and Lancashire.

I got the overnight ferry to Belfast from Birkenhead. Travelling with a bicycle through the metro system in Liverpool was a bit of a pain. I had to get to the other side of the River Mersey and you can’t just cycle across. After lugging my heavily laden bicycle into elevators that were far too small to fit my bike in I got to Birkenhead and made my way to the ferry port.

The ferry across was pleasant enough. Priced at £30 each way, it was a bargain. I didn’t pay to get a cabin so got my roll mat and sleeping bag out and got a few hours’ sleep under a coffee table. This was also a good place to charge all my cameras, phone and GPS.

Northern Ireland

After three days of scorching summer weather (by English standards anyway) arriving in Belfast to rain was fairly pleasant. I set off from the port at 6:30 am with no real destination as my target other than to follow the coast west. After an hour of cycling in the constant rain I started to feel tired and sorry for myself. I started following the coast initially north, then west towards Larne was my first leg.

Having the sea on my right-hand side was nice, for some reason I have always enjoyed following a coastal route. Stopping on the beach in fine weather always puts a smile on my face. This wasn’t going to happen today. The rain was becoming tiring. I was cold, wet and hungry. All the shops were still closed as it was about 7:30 am. I spotted an underpass for the small A road I was following and decided to get some shelter. Slowly I placed my roll mat and sleeping bag on the floor of the heavily graffiti-laden underpass and got an hours sleep. I was that tired that I wasn’t even particularly bothered by the strong smell of urine in the tunnel.

I woke and the rain had slowed. Time to get back on the bike and stop feeling sorry for myself. In Larne, I stopped at a Lidl supermarket to buy some food with the money I had made in Liverpool. I bought an absolute feast for £3. I got a jar of olives, bunch of bananas, a cheesy bread roll, eight tortilla wraps and a pack of ginger nuts biscuits. More than enough to keep me going.

Shopping at Lidl to keep down the costs. All of this for under £3.

The scenery past Larne was a pure coastal cycling dream. Long winding roads with the occasional fishing village with nothing more than a local post office and pub. This type of scenery was what I was looking forward to the most before I started the trip. I continued past the lovely town of Ballygalley heading west. The only problem with my route was the distinct lack of towns to busk in. Most towns didn’t have a town centre as such. Just a handful of shops on a road with little or no people on the streets to perform to. I had enough food to get me through the day and had some money left over from Yorkshire but I needed to busk at some point.

The real Game of Thrones

Like most of the rest of the world, I am a big Game of Thrones (GoT) fan. Northern Ireland is the major filming location for the series so I was keen to visit some of the sites made famous by the series. The first GoT filming location I stopped in was the coastal town of Cushendun. Here are the caves where Melisandre, the red woman who gave birth to a demon that eventually went on to kill Renly Baratheon. The caves are easy to access, I took my bicycle all the way to them and parked it inside the cave. There were only a couple of other tourists about who had probably gone there due to the GoT link as well. I considered wild camping in the cave but a hard floored tourist destination didn’t seem to be the best place I could sleep that night.

I continued west along the Torr head scenic route. It was glorious weather and you could see the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland over the sea. The route was beautiful but also very hilly. I had to stop and push my bike up the hill on a number of occasions. My water was running low and I was miles from the next town. I pushed on, soaking in the scenery and enjoying the steep downhills. It was still light at around 8 pm with the sun setting at around 9:50 pm each night. I spotted a small forest on the downhill towards Ballycastle and picked that as my camp for the night.

It was a great wild camping spot. Close enough to the road that I could get back on route quick enough in the morning but far enough in cover that nobody would ever see me. It was also next to a small flowing stream. Always great to freshen up in the morning.

The next day I continued west to Ballycastle. A nice enough town but I arrived early so everything was closed. From Ballycastle, I moved off the coastal route and started heading South-West towards the Dark Hedges. This has again been made famous by GoT. It is a road with huge looming trees, interwoven to create almost a tunnel. It is an impressive sight. Almost as impressive is the number of coaches and tourists that they manage to squeeze into the narrow functioning country road.

A local half marathon being held and the dark hedges were the highlights of the route so the police stopped the tourist buses for an hour or so whilst the race was being held. Once the race was finished the hordes of American and Asian tourists flooded back into the area; snapping away with their DSLRs. It’s not like I should be complaining as after all, I am just the same as the rest of the tourists.

My photo of a lone half marathon runner at the Dark Hedges and the same location below as shown in the Game of Thrones.

I was still struggling to find a busking spot. At this point, I should have got my ukulele out at the dark hedges but I didn’t feel comfortable ruining the tourist’s day with my awful singing. Running short on money, I needed to busk, so I headed to the next town on the coast with the aim of busking regardless of the amount of people there.

I headed quickly downhill towards Ballintoy Bay, again made famous by GoT. This is the location of Pike, one of the Iron Islands. I could instantly see why they used this site to film the Iron Islands. The small Bay looked old, almost like it was from another time. On a rough day, I could imagine the waves would come right over the craggy rocks with only the man-made walls there to protect the boats. There was a small cafe in the bay and a good number of tourists. I popped into the cafe to ask if it was ok to busk. They gave me their blessing so I set up for the first time in Northern Ireland. After an hour and half of performing, I made £3. I was more than happy with that amount. It meant I wouldn’t go hungry.

Taking the scenic route

The road down to Ballintoy Bay was great fun to cycle down. It is a long, winding road but fairly steep in places. Rather than retracing my route up the hill, I decided to follow the Causeway footpath. It hugged the shore of the coast west towards the Giants Causeway.

This was a mistake.

The route was boggy mud in places which meant getting off the bike and pushing. This meant lifting my heavy bike onto my shoulders and crossing the deep mud, gates, stiles and fences. There were large boulders and rocks blocking my path which meant carrying the bike again and there was lots of loose dry sand. Wet sand is fine but dry loose sand I discovered is an instant handbrake for a bicycle. However, despite all of that taking that route was the most enjoyable part of the whole trip.

Taking my bicycle where it wasn’t meant to go got strange looks from the local ramblers but they often stopped and talked to me, asking why I was going this way with the bike. They often told me that I wouldn’t be able to get the bike through the next part as it’s too wet/rocky/sandy. This was just the motivation I needed to get through the next part of the route. The long beach between Ballintoy and Dunseverick was brilliant to cycle across. Miles of wet sand, rugged coastline and even a herd of cows sat relaxing on the beach!

When I arrived at the Giants Causeway and thought this was my time to cash in. I played two songs and had made £2 already. I was on fire! That was until the nice lady from the National Trust extinguished my act and told me I couldn’t play there. I followed her direction, packed up and made my way towards Coleraine.

This was the last part of my short adventure in Northern Ireland. I found the Northern Irish people to be friendly and always happy to stop and talk, even to this English man. Not once did I mention that I am in the British Army or talk about politics. It is always easier to avoid talking politics anywhere in the world.

I got the train from Coleraine back to Belfast and stayed in a hostel that night where I met a fantastic busker performing in the hostel kitchen area. His name is Ruben and is the Swedish Street performer champion for the last three years running. We shared our tales of busking and travelling and went for a well-needed pint in Belfast.

Lessons from the Road

I am always looking for different ways to push myself and to have different experiences. I joined the Army to deploy on operations and test myself in the most challenging environment possible.

War.

Unfortunately (or many would say, fortunately) during my six years as a regular Army Officer I have never deployed in a combat role on operations. I deployed in a staff role to Afghanistan and never once left our largest base, Camp Bastion. Due to missing out on this I feel a need to find ways to push and test myself in the form of adventures.

This adventure ticked many boxes. Not because of the hundreds of miles spent on the saddle of a bicycle. It was the learning of a new instrument and singing in the streets for the first time. The cycling almost took a backseat for this adventure. The busking is what pushed me out of my comfort zone.

Don’t get me wrong. Physically, the cycling was at times challenging. I learnt that ‘scenic route’ actually means the route with horrible hills that you may have to get off and push your bike up.

Travelling alone can be liberating. Having nobody to answer to, all your decisions become based on the here and now. I feel that everybody should experience solo travel at least once in their life. You learn so much about yourself.
I need to keep doing these types of adventures. Be it alone or with somebody else, the world is a big place and over a lifetime, we can all only scratch the surface. I also realised how important my wife is to me. She is a Saint. She puts up with my constant escapades and I shouldn’t take that for granted.

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters in the end”

Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness

I often spend my days dreaming up ideas for new adventures. One of my favourite parts of a new adventure is the planning phase. Checking routes on maps, researching locations and reading about other people’s experiences in similar places.

The end of an adventure is often quite depressing. From exploring new locations and soaking in all the new sights, sounds and smells to going back to the everyday existence of work and family life. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy my work and cherish time at home as I am often away. It is the adjustment from living in a manner that is so simple and free to going back to some of the mundane things in life, like mowing the lawn or paying bills.

Being on the road during my cycle/busking adventure through Northern Ireland had a certain routine to it just like a ‘normal’ week at work. It goes like this:

Wake up at sunrise and slowly pack away tent and re-attach the panniers and equipment to the bike.

Find somewhere to refill water bottles.

Get some early morning miles under my belt. If I have over 50km done before lunch time it makes the afternoon easier.

Aim to arrive in a large town to busk after lunch.

Set up the music stand, retune the ukulele.

Pluck up the courage to sing loud and hopefully in tune.

Count the meagre amount of coins I have made.

Pack up and get some more miles under my belt before sunset.

Look for a stealth camp spot.

Once selected, occupy the spot and get out the tent.

Cook some hot food and have a wash.

Sleep

What makes the day interesting is the people you meet whilst travelling. People will often stop and talk to a lone traveller on a heavily laden bicycle. The scenery and wildlife do a good job of keeping you entertained and stimulated as well.

I feel I have had my summer fix of type 2 fun (horrid at the time, only fun to reminisce afterwards). Now it’s time to relax. Is that even possible?